The arena's fighting pit was empty except for the two of us. High above, the guards were eating snacksand taking bets as they watched us get ready. They expected us to give them a show.

I had my sword and shield drawn. Vral stood across from me, twin daggers spinning in lazy circles. She looked bored, but I'd watched her fight enough to know that was complete bullshit. She was studying me.

They'd dragged us out of our cells and thrown us into the arena. Said we had until night fell. I'd hoped our first training session together would go well, but she wouldn't talk. She'd been cold ever since she's seen me. Barely would even look at me. I wanted to know why, but she was a closed book.

I figured maybe she'd only talk once we'd sparred a little. We'd only ever seen one another a couple times in person, so maybe things were weird? I mean, it kind of was weird, knowing someone without knowing them. So, I took my time and stretched my weary muscles. The Goddess knew I needed it. After yesterday.

"Thirty seconds. That's how long it'll take." One of the many Pit guards said from the bleachers above.

"He won't win, but he'll fight hard. I've seen him do it. Five minutes."

"Fifteen crystals?"

"Sure."

They shook hands.

"Hear that? Not one of them thinks you'll make it out of here alive." Vral's red eyes fixed themselves on mine. They were filled with contempt.

Why?

"Guess I'll have to show them they're wrong." I readied my shield. My muscles ached from yesterday's session with Aerell—her "loyalty test," as she called it. It had hurt, but the pain was just proof I was still alive. And, for the first time, yesterday's session proved to me that her magic didn't hurt so bad anymore. I realized I'd gotten stronger than I'd realized. By thinking of myself as weak, I'd been holding myself back.

No more.

Not only that, but I'd made progress with Aerell. As she did her work, I'd made it sound good. I really did. I told her exactly what she wanted to hear. I acted the way she expected me to act. I was the best victim I could be for her. I let her feel like she'd won. Like she'd broken me.

But it wasn't real.

At least, not all of it. Sure, it hurt. Bad. Really bad. But after all the abuse, I'd grown strong. I could take it. She'd given me everything she could, and I survived. No. I overcame. I triumphed. It was like a veil fell off of me. I wasn't afraid of her anymore. Her threats would never work on me again.

"So," Vral said, not bothering with any kind of stance, "sounded like Aerell finally broke in her favorite toy yesterday."

I rolled my shoulders, working out the knots. "What are you talking about?"

The guards above us laughed. I caught fragments of their conversations:

"... ten crystals on the goblin..."

"... poor bastard doesn't know what he's in for..."

Ignoring them, I looked my little opponent over. Her lips, full and plump, were pulled back into a sneer, revealing her pointed canines. Her wavy black hair was tied back in a tight knot, and her body, well-muscled and toned, was covered in black leather armor. She was powerful, and striking, and she looked completely at ease, as if she were doing nothing more than playing with a child.

When she didn't answer, I asked again. "What are you talking about, Vral?"

"You. Crying. Like a bitch."

That pissed me off. "Hardly. She tried her best."

"Tried?" A vicious grin spread across her face. "I heard every one of your pathetic whimpers through the wall. Every time you begged her to stop. Every sob when she didn't. You broke, loser. You talked a big game all those nights, made me think you might be someone, but you aren't shit."

Her words hurt. I knew she'd heard it all. Every moment of weakness, every time I'd cracked. All of my pretending. But I never thought she'd throw it in my face. Heat flooded my face. "That wasn't what happened."

"Oh, and now you're gonna try and lie to me?" She started to circle me, like a small, angry green cat. "My cell's right next to yours, remember? The walls are thin. I heard you break, Alex. Heard you crying like a little bitch. And you promised that whore you'd be good. You promised you'd do whatever she asked. You slobbered all over her when she said she'd treat you good after she made her money off me. Fuck you."

I gripped my sword and shield tighter. The leather wrapping cracked under my palms. There was so much shame burning in my chest. I had made a mockery of myself. But it was worth it. It had to be. "You don't get it."

"Tch. Shut up and get ready."

I ground my teeth. Underneath the shame was anger. Hot, and getting hotter. She didn't know a damn thing. "You don't understand anything."

"Don't I?" She ended the question by farting forward, a quick thrust of her left dagger aimed directly at my face.

I jerked back."The fuck? We haven't started yet."

"I have." She slashed at my throat, but I backpedaled. "Here's what I see in front of me." Pointing at me with her dagger, she continued, "A sad, pitiful man pretending to be big and strong." Darting forward, looking like a green streak, she stabbed at my ribs.

I blocked with my shield and felt the impact vibrate up my arm.

Sauntering backward, she continued. "But you're nothing. Broken." Again, she dashed, this time slashing with both daggers.

I blocked one strike. A second. A third. But I was barely keeping up.

"Just another worthless man in a fucking sea of worthless men." Both of her blades slashed for my knee. "I thought you were different."

[Iron Skin]

Her daggers bounced off my knee. "Shut you're fucking mouth, Vral." I swung my sword at her neck, but she danced away well before the blade hit.

"Oh, are you going to cry?" She stuck her lip out. "Wouldn't be the first time. But I'll make it the last."

My heart pounded in my ears, making ears ring. Every inch of me wanted blood. What the hell did she know?...

Stop.

She was getting in my head. This was her whole thing. But how dare she... She had no idea the sacrifices I'd made...

I heard one of the guards say, "...Kid's shaking..."

"...Not much to him..."

"...Minute's up... Give me my crystals..."

Without warning, Vral lunged forward. Both of her daggers aimed at my chest.

I threw myself back. Again, too slow.

[Iron Skin]

Her blades scraped across my breastplate with a metallic screech, leaving deep gouges in the metal.

"Look at that," she said as she weaved around me, the sand under her feet scattering with every step. "Aerell's little pet can barely keep up. At least you still have some instincts, though. Makes this more fun." Darting low this time, her left dagger swept at my shin.

I stepped back. Tried to counter with my sword. But she was fast. Way too fast.

She stuck my leg, forcing my knee outward. Her foot hooked behind mine, and she shoved me with her shoulder.

Then, I was falling.

I hit the ground with a loud thump. I groaned. The arena sand was coarse against my neck and arms. Thousands of tiny grains stuck to my sweaty skin. The instant I came back to my senses, her dagger was at my throat. The steel was cold against my neck, and the blade was sharp enough that I felt the edge without her having to press hard.

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"Dead," she said an inch from my face.

From above, I could hear the Pit guards laughing.

"Ha! Told you! Two minutes was generous."

"...Hand 'em over!"

"Hey boys?" The goblin called out to the men.

" Yeah?"

"Should I end him?!" Vral had a wide grin on her face.

"Do it!"

"Fuck him up!"

"Make it slow!"

Seeing she was distracted, I shoved her elbow, throwing her dagger out to the side. She fell forward, and I rolled away, throwing sand at her as I did.

"Ass!"

Scrambling up, I threw my shield out wide, parrying her daggers before they could hit me. A breath later, she was backing off, but I could see something was different in how she moved. Her steps were more precise. Measured. She was starting to take me seriously.

"Not bad. You still'd be dead if I wanted you to be, though."

"Then stop fucking around. Put me down, if you think you can." I raised my sword and shield. My back ached from the fall, and the sand ground between my armor and skin terribly, but I was ready.

"I'll kill you when I want to, dog." Her perpetual grin faded, replaced with a snarl.

I was getting irritated. "Vral, what the hell? Where's my friend gone? The one I made these past four months? I'd don't get it."

Taking a step forward, I saw that she was shaking. Actually shaking. "She vanished the second she heard you break last night. I don't talk to losers or weaklings. And I certainly don't make nice with people who work with whores like Aerell."

"Do you really think she won?"

"I know it!" She was screaming now. "And know this, too: Only a real man can ever beat me. And you're not one of those, little doggy. You're just a lap dog ready for his bone."

She was using Aerell's words against me. Aerell had used her magic to make me believe I was a dog the day before. I'd done some shit I'd be processing for a long time. "I told you. She tried. It didn't stick."

"Stop your yapping." She stalked forward again, daggers spinning. Each revolution caught the arena's dim light. "I heard it all. Every whimper. Every plea. You were pathetic, even for a human. You should just let me put you down. Then you wouldn't have to live with the shame." She vanished. An instant later, her right dagger was whistling through the air, aimed directly for my ribs.

I blocked with my sword. The clash rang out sharp and metallic. When she countered with her other blade, I deflected it with my shield, but the metal caught my upper arm. I changed the angle and slammed my shield into her side, but the impact sent vibrations that made my teeth ache.

"You begged her," she continued, pressing her attack. Both daggers were working now in patterns that whistled through the air. And, somehow, despite our massive size difference, I had to take two steps backward for every one of hers. "Where's your pride as a man?" Her daggers flashed.

[Iron Skin]

Both blades bounced off my thigh. "Stop!" My voice echoed off the arena walls.

"... Gonna cry..."

"... Tearing him apart..."

"... In more than one way..."

"Stop?" She shrieked. Feinting high with her right, she swept low with her left. "You want me to stop?!"

I jumped to the side, feeling the blade pass close enough to stir the air near my leg.

"That's exactly what you kept saying last night. Over and over. Please! Stop! I'll do anything. Whatever you say, mistress!"

One of the guards called down to us: "Finish him, devil! Make him bleed!"

"Devil." She spat the word as both daggers came at me. One scraped across my chest plate with a screech that made me wince. The other cut through the spot between my bracer and pauldron. There was hot pain, then the warm trickle of blood. "That's all we are to you people. Devils. Too disgusting and foul to be anything else." She glared at me. "Bet that's what you think, too, behind those pretty eyes and lying words of yours. You never fucking cared." Her teeth were bared now, her canines glinting in the glowstone light.

"You talk too much." I cut low, pushing her back. "Shut up."

"Make me." She leapt, and her blade whistled past my ear close enough that I thought I'd lost it. "Oh, wait, you can't. Just like you couldn't make her stop. Because you're nothing."

"Fuck off!" My heart was pounding. I gave up my freedom for this?

"Dark Father's breath, you humans are all the same. You think we're so stupid, and you're so much better than us. But you're all just sniveling little shits without a shred of self-respect." She dropped low, brought her daggers in front of her, and charged.

That did it. I was done with this. I stopped backing up. Stopped thinking about defense. Stopped thinking about anything but shutting her fucking mouth.

As she came in, I opened myself up. Let her daggers aim at my heart. And instead of retreating, I stepped into her attack. Let her blades bite deep into my armor.

Both blades struck true, and there was a loud screech as they sank into my breastplate.

[Iron Skin]

My vision swam as her daggers sank into my armor. One of them struck my chest and got stuck. The other slipped underneath and immediately kicked to the side, torqued between my armor and metallic skin. As my skill faded, the pain was sharp, immediate—like hot needles pushing through my muscles. But I pushed through the pain. It was nothing. I'd been through far worse.

[Second Wind]

Energy surged through my body. With it, so did my anger. "Listen, you fucking bitch."

She wrenched at her daggers, trying to pull them free, but they were lodged firmly in my breastplate.

I reached for the goblin's throat. I wanted to throttle her so bad. But no... she needed to hear me. Redirecting at the last second, I wrapped my fingers around her leather armor's collar and ripped her off the ground.

"Fuck!" She tried to pull the daggers free again, even managed to dislodge one of them, but when she swung it at my eye, I caught her arm midair and twisted. She hissed, and the blade clattered to the ground. "Get the fuck off me!"

"No." I pulled her close. Close enough to smell the sweat on her skin. Close enough that I could smell the old leather wrapped around her body. Close enough to hear her breath hitch. "You're going to listen to me."

Her red eyes grew wide. She struck my forehead with her fist. "You don't get to tell me what to do!"

"Listen!" I slammed her against the arena's wall. "Just fucking listen!"

"Why should I, dog?" Her red eyes narrowed on mine.

As I looked at her, it struck me. I was here because of her. No. I was here for her. Why? "Because I came back for you! I'm going to save you!"

The woman spat in my face.

Snarling, I turned, pulled her back, and slammed her into the arena wall a second time. "I gave everything for this. Show some goddamn respect!"

She scoffed. "Why would I ever respect you?" She bit at my face. "You gave your word! Twice! You said you'd save me, or you'd kill me. I didn't care which. Either way, I'd be free! That's what you promised. But now, you won't do either. I know it. She's a liar. And so are you, you fucking dog!"

Without hesitation, I slammed her into the wall again, this time hard enough that the ground shook. Her eyes swam for a moment, then refocused. As they did, our eyes met.

Something in me tensed.

She wasn't someone I knew. I didn't owe her anything, nor her, me. What the fuck was I doing? What was I thinking? I said I wanted to save everyone, and I did. I really did. But it all started with her. Why? "That's what I'm here to do! I'm here to save your goddamn life!"

She punched my throat. "Why?!"

It hurt, but I didn't give a shit. "Why not?!"

"I'm nobody!"

I slammed her into the wall again. Then, pressing my body into hers, until her face was next to mine, I growled, "Because I want to."

Her eyes softened. "Please... I heard you last night... Don't lie to me." Her voice broke. "I can't do it anymore."

"Do what?"

"I can't be let down again."

My soul burned. How dare she question my integrity? How dare she look down on me? Question my dedication? I'd prove to her who I was. I'd show her what I was made of.

No.

I'd show them all.

The Count. Kalnari. Garl. Fucking Aerell. Arden and Varga. Ro and Renard and Na-Ya. Elise. Tristan. Every single one of these fuckers would learn what I was made of. I'd stop at nothing until they did.

"You really don't believe me, do you? You really think I broke?" My voice was calm now. Cold. "After all these months, after all our talks, you really think so little of me that you think I'd go back on my word to you?"

"Yes!" Spit flew from her lips. "Not a single person in this shit ass life has been there for me. Why would you be? Why should I believe you? What makes you so different?!" She kicked and squirmed, but I wasn't about to let go.

Shoving her into the wall, I looked her dead in the eyes. "I'm unbreakable."

Her eyes grew wide, and she tried to push me away, to create distance, but it was too late.

I spun my sword around. My pommel shot out, catching her in the ribs. The impact traveled up my arm—solid, satisfying.

Air erupted from her lungs. She grunted—actually grunted. Wheezing, she grumbled, "Bullshit." She tried to pull away, but I wasn't about to let go. Another strike, this one to the temple. Her head snapped to the side. "Ugh!" Her nails found my forearm. Tore into the skin under my bracer.

I throttled her again, until her head bobbled in the air. Her leather armor creaked under my fingers. When she stopped squirming, I slammed her into the wall again, then pressed my body into her so she couldn't move.

I could see the shock in her eyes, the way her pupils went wide. "Why?!"

I punched her face. "Because it's what I do!" I punched her again. "And I'll never be broken!" Lifting her high in the air, I slammed her to the ground and jumped on top of her. "I won't ever stop." I pounded my pommel into her shoulder. "I'll fucking win!" My fist struck her eye. "Then, I'll save you. I'll save you from this place, and I'll save you from your shitty fucking life, too!" Throwing my sword aside, I grabbed her collar with my other hand. "Believe in me!" I slammed my helmeted forehead into hers.

The impact rang through my skull like a bell. Her head snapped back, thumping into the ground, hard. A thick line of blood ran down from where my helmet had split her skin, bright red against her green skin.

The arena went dead silent. The guards had stopped talking. I knew this would get back to Aerell. I'd probably fucked up all of my plans. But I didn't care. If new walls grew in front of me, I'd break my way through.

Underneath me, Vral was staring up at me, dumbfounded. Her lips quirked, and she whispered, "You mean it?"

"Yeah."

With a quick jerk, she grabbed the dagger buried in my breastplate and wrenched it free. Stabbing at my forearm, I felt searing pain as the blade buried into my bracer. Shaking her head, she whispered, "Damn..." While holding her hand to her forehead, she slid out from under me. snatch her other dagger as she slid backward, she made it a few few away before falling backward, blinking hard, one hand pressed to her forehead. "That was..." Her red eyes found the ceiling. "Wow."

As I watched her pant on the ground, words appeared in my head:

You complete the Fighter task [A Good Fight]

You reach Fighter 6★.

You reach level 24.

+1 Strength, +1 Resilience, +1 Agility

You gain the [Provoke] skill.

I finally did it. I learned a new skill... And I beat Vral. How? No idea. She was supposed to be stronger than me. But I did it.

Reaching down, I picked up my sword and pointed it at her. "Now, you're about to listen to me."

"No, you listen here, you—"

[Provoke]

Her entire head and body were wrenched so that she was looking me in the eyes.

"You're never going to underestimate me again. Got it?"

"I—" She looked away.

[Provoke]

Her head jerked back to me.

"No! You're going to get one thing straight, Vral: I'm not broken, I'm not weak, and I'm no one's dog. I'll never break, and I'll never stop. I'm going to fulfill every promise, complete every quest, and do every goddamn thing I have to do to make things right. And then I'll keep on going, until they put me six feet in the dirt. No. Fuck that. I won't even stop then."

"But—"

[Provoke]

"I'm Alex Clark. Human Fighter. Traveler from Earth. Born under the Shield. Templar of Light's Hope Temple. The Unbreakable Man. The Iron Sentinel. And the man who beat you here today. And don't you fucking forget it."

You earn the title [The Iron Sentinel]

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